Don't believe the hype about goose fat – these vegan roast potatoes are divine with just regular olive oil and salt. The quintessential side dish for Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving, or your weekly Sunday roast, a plant-based approach will result in roasties that are perfectly crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.
Crispy roast potatoes don't need any extra bells and whistles, but I've included garlic and rosemary in the recipe as optional ingredients that you can either include or omit.
For more delicious vegan side dishes, see these recipes for roasted sprouts with tofu bacon, vegan dauphinoise potatoes, and vegan cauliflower cheese.
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Are roast potatoes vegan?
Provided they have been cooked in plant-based oil rather than an animal product such as goose fat or beef fat, roast potatoes are a vegan side dish.
Which potatoes are best?
For the best results, you'll want to use a floury variety of potato such as Maris Piper or King Edward. In North America, a close equivalent would be Russet potatoes.
Maris Pipers are also great for other recipes including aloo palak, vegan mash and the resulting mashed potato pancakes.
How to make roast potatoes crispy
Achieving crispy roast potatoes comes down to a few simple steps:
- Peel the potatoes.
- Par-boil before roasting.
- Gently shake after draining to fluff up the surface area.
- Make sure the oven is hot enough but not too hot (around 180-200°C / 360-390°F).
- Use plenty of oil to coat the potatoes.
What you'll need
The perfect vegan roasties require just a few simple ingredients:
- Floury potatoes such as Maris Piper
- Cooking oil – ideally olive oil, rapeseed oil, or canola oil
- Salt for flavour
- Garlic and rosemary as optional extras
How to make crispy vegan roast potatoes
Peel the potatoes and cut into similar-sized chunks, leaving smaller ones whole and chopping larger ones into roughly the same size.
Add the potatoes to a large pan and cover with water (1). Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
After simmering for 5 minutes, you should be able to just pierce the potatoes with a knife. Drain into a colander and give them a gentle shake to fluff up the edges (2). Allow the potatoes to steam-dry for a few minutes.
Add the olive oil to a large roasting tin and place in the oven for a few minutes to heat up. Once hot, remove from the oven and carefully place the potatoes in the hot oil (3).
Turn each potato over to coat with the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, then roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes, turn the potatoes over. If using garlic and rosemary, add the bashed garlic cloves and rosemary leaves. Return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes or until crispy and golden (4), turning over once or twice again to get some colour on all sides.
Once the potatoes are cooked through and crispy on the outside, remove from the oven. Remove the garlic and rosemary and serve.
Serving suggestions
Besides being a staple at any Christmas, Thanksgiving, or Sunday roast table, roast potatoes are a versatile side dish that can play a supporting role in many meals. Suggestions include:
- Vegan haggis with whisky cream sauce
- Stews such as smoky jackfruit chilli or lemony butter bean stew
- Grilled tofu steaks or grilled king oyster mushrooms
- Curries including chana masala, rajma masala, and tofu jalfrezi
Recipe FAQ
It's not strictly necessary, but it's how you'll make sure you get the outsides nice and crispy. By parboiling the potatoes, you'll soften the outer layer, making it easy to fluff up the surface in a colander.
You can certainly roast potatoes with the skin on, but peeling will give you the soft outer surface area to get them extra crispy and golden in the oven.
Good ol' olive oil is your friend here. There's no need for it to be an extra-virgin olive oil, just a general-purpose variety. Rapeseed oil or canola oil would be the next best thing.
You can store the roasted potatoes in the fridge for up to four days or freezer for up to six months.
Some recipes and shop-bought varieties may include wheat flour for additional crispiness, so it's best to check the ingredients. This recipe here is 100% gluten-free.
Variations and tips for crispy roast potatoes
- Quantity: The amounts below will provide roughly four servings as a side. For larger quantities, be sure to use extra oven dishes to avoid overcrowding.
- Pepper: I don't include it here, but feel free to add black pepper along with the salt.
- Herbs and spices: Mix it up with thyme, sage, smoked paprika, chilli powder, or cumin powder.
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Full recipe
Crispy Vegan Roast Potatoes
Ingredients
- 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2.2 lb (1 kg) potatoes (I used Maris Piper but other floury varieties such as King Edward or Russet would work fine)
- Salt, to taste
- 3-4 sprigs fresh rosemary (optional)
- 4 garlic cloves (optional)
Instructions
- Peel the potatoes and cut into similar-sized chunks, leaving smaller ones whole and chopping larger ones into roughly the same size.
- Add the potatoes to a large pan and cover with water. Sprinkle with a generous pinch of salt, cover with a lid, and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180°C (360°F).
- After simmering for 5 minutes, you should be able to just pierce the potatoes with a knife. Drain into a colander and give them a gentle shake to fluff up the edges. Allow the potatoes to steam-dry for a few minutes.
- Add the olive oil to a large roasting tin and place in the oven for a few minutes to heat up. Once hot, remove from the oven and carefully place the potatoes in the hot oil. Turn each potato over to coat with the oil, sprinkle with a little salt, then roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- After 20 minutes, turn the potatoes over. If using garlic and rosemary, add the bashed garlic cloves and rosemary leaves at this point. Return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes or until crispy and golden, turning over once or twice again to get some colour on all sides. You can increase the heat slightly to help with this, but be careful not to overdo it.
- Once the potatoes are cooked through and crispy on the outside, remove from the oven. Remove the garlic and rosemary and serve.Serving suggestions include vegan haggis, grilled tofu steaks, or lemony butter bean stew.📸 Recipe steps >📖 Table of contents >
Notes
Nutrition
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Laura
Excellent. At first I wasn't convinced about using oil but they turned out great!
The Pesky Vegan
Glad to hear it, thanks very much for the review!